The London group Blur, led by Damon Albarn, who was already the headliner in the 2013 edition, was returning to the festival when their new album, The ballad of Darren, is about to be released, which will go on sale on July 21. . Shortly before, on the 8th and 9th, the group will bathe the masses in two concerts at Wembley Stadium.
What was their first concert of the European tour they opened with a new, as yet unreleased song, St. Charles Square, before going back to their first album Leisure with the Brit-pop pill of accurate guitar riff There’s no other way. Then came the turn of a single not included in any album, Popscene, hardcore and rocker to the max. The forcefulness of guitarist Graham Coxson was a constant.
The first dive into their great classic album Parklife comes with Tracy Jacks. This is followed by Beetlebum, the lead single from their fifth album Blur, which narrates Albarn’s experience with heroin and has a strong Beatles aroma, including falsetto. The next one, Trimm trabb, begins calmly and acoustically to end in a psychedelic ‘despiporre’. They put it together with a Villa Rosie in which the tension of rock runs rampant again, without losing the mischief of pop in the melody. From there to Coffee
For their part, New Order, the emblematic group from Manchester, performed as a quintet, after the departure of original bassist Peter Cook. His replacement is the competent Tom Chapman and the group is now completed with Phil Cunningham on second guitar. The rest of the members are the original Bernand Sumner on vocals and guitar, Stephen Morris on drums and his partner Gillian Gilbert on keyboards. With more than four decades of career behind them, the band does not miss the opportunity to remember that before they were part of the mythical group Joy División, a champion of post-punk whose version of the legendary song Love will tear us apart at the end of the concert. And although they did not do justice to the original, the memory of the ill-fated singer Ian Curtis, who appeared on the screen with his sad and penetrating eyes, was the most emotional moment of a concert in which it was clear that time has not passed in bucket for the group. Especially for Bernard Sumner, who at 67 no longer has the voice or bearing of the group’s glory days.
The suicide of Ian Curtis prompted them to reinvent themselves as the New Order, gradually leaving tormented and sinister sounds aside to move closer to electronic pop and dance music. From their seminal album Power, corruption
In addition to nostalgic moments, it was also possible to enjoy highly topical proposals, such as that of the Korean Red Velvet, a K-pop sensation who delighted with their sugary pop and their choreographies, served in a repertoire in which there was no shortage of Psycho hymns. , Feel my rhythm, Peek-a-Boo, Bad boy, Zimzalabim or a BAMBOLEO that has nothing to do with Gipsy Kings. The Nigerian Rema, an Afro-pop star who came to present his debut album “Rave”, also took advantage of his opportunity.
